Bid for Crossrail is right on track

The campaign to bring Crossrail to Reading is right on track today after two important advances.

A petition from Reading businesses was presented to the Crossrail select committee in Westminster by Reading West MP Martin Salter yesterday.

And Reading East MP Rob Wilson gained the support of Mayor of London Ken Livingstone at a meeting of the Crossrail group yesterday.

The 250-signature petition calling for Crossrail to be extended to Reading station was launched by Mr Salter and collected through the Evening Post.

The petition also called for a western link to Heathrow Airport and urged Parliament to make sure Crossrail does not impede the high-speed service from Reading to Paddington and to the West.

Major business like Microsoft, Foster Wheeler, Yell and MCI were among the top Reading companies to back the campaign, along with other smaller businesses and individuals.

Mr Salter also gave evidence to the Crossrail select committee.

He said: “Crossrail is an ambitious, £10 billion-plus, once-in-a-lifetime public transport project. It has the potential to address a range of longstanding problems with rail infrastructure both in and around London.

“However, it is vital that Crossrail does not come to represent a series of missed opportunities due to poor planning or lack of vision and foresight.”